A JELLY-making duo have scooped a regional accolade after winning overseas fans for their spicy creations. Jules & Sharpie, otherwise known as Jules Field and Frances Hopewell-Smith, were recognised for their outstanding success overseas at this year's regional Passport to Export Awards by UK Trade & Investment.

A JELLY-making duo have scooped a regional accolade after winning overseas fans for their spicy creations.

Jules & Sharpie, otherwise known as Jules Field and Frances Hopewell-Smith, were recognised for their outstanding success overseas at this year's regional Passport to Export Awards by UK Trade & Investment.

The pair, whose company is based in Leiston, were crowned the Suffolk and the regional winners at the event, which was held at the Millennium Stadium in Newmarket on Tuesday .

They started by creating a hot pepper jelly to a Jamaican recipe and have since expanded their range to include 11 award-winning jellies and chutneys.

Mrs Hopewell-Smith said they were “delighted and proud” to win the award.

“If you are a small company such as ours you spend a lot of time working in isolation. Winning the award is recognition for all the hard work that Jules and I have put into the business over the past five years,” she said.

Awards were presented in nine categories - six county winners and runners-up, an overall winner with separate awards for language and culture, and innovation marketing.

The runner-up in Suffolk was Diamond Dogs (UK) of Great Wratting, which designs leather accessories decorated with crystals. Highly commended in the county was Solutions Environmental Systems Ltd of Ipswich, which specialises in surface disinfectants.

FRAB Ltd of Colchester took the Passport to Export award for Essex after establishing partnerships in countries from Iceland to Oman for its LapSafe range of laptop trolleys.

Runner-up for Essex was Global Maintenance Technologies Ltd of Chelmsford, a firm which designs and manufactures infra-red inspection windows for electrical equipment.

Three Essex companies - Medical Device Management Ltd of Braintree, PaperArtsy of Brentwood and Stephen Taylor Prints of Colchester - were highly commended.